It was no secret that Microsoft was announcing the Surface 2 today. Today Microsoft held an event in New York to announce the Surface 2, the Surface Pro 2 and a line of accessories for the tablet. Hoping to gain a strong presence in the tabloid market, Microsoft talked about why the Surface 2 is the most “powerful tablet ever built”.
Microsoft Surface 2 Tablet
The Microsoft Surface 2 promises a great increase in battery life (up to 10 hours). It of course is thinner and lighter than the original. It has great power coming form a 1.7GHz Nvidia Tegra 4 processor. The rear-facing camera is 5 megapixels, while the front facing camera is 3.5 megapixel. The resolution has been upgraded to 1,920 x 1,080. The kickstand on the back of the Surface 2 now has two positions to help out different viewing situations and accommodate different settings and users.
The Surface 2 will ship with Windows 8.1 allowing for great customization and multitasking. It also comes preloaded with Office Home & Student 2013 RT and Outlook RT.
Hands-On With the Microsoft Surface 2
When playing around with the Surface 2, I saw the speed and fluidity of the tablet. It’s a great alternative to a netbook, if you rely on the PC experience.
http://youtu.be/TJLY4Cgk18U
Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Tablet PC
The Microsoft Surface Pro 2 is made to be a more complete laptop / PC replacement. Offering a full Windows 8 (8.1) experience, the Surface Pro 2 allows you to take the office on the go. This would be the model I would get. The Surface Pro 2 is powered by a 4th generation Intel processor. It allows you to have many apps open without it lagging or getting a sluggish performance. It can hold up to 512 GB of flash storage for quick access to info on or offline.
Microsoft is throwing in some free goodies when you purchase the Surface Pro 2. You get 1 year of unlimited4free voice calling to landlines in over 60 countries, and free Skype Wi-Fi at over 2 million hotspots worldwide. You also get 200 GB of SkyDrive storage for 2 years.
Microsoft Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 Pricing:
The Microsoft Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 will be available starting October 22. The Surface 2, with Windows RT, starts at $449, but the previous model Surface RT, will now be available for $349. The Surface Pro 2 starts (as the original Surface Pro did) at $899, but the internal storage can be upgraded to a 512GB SSD.
Microsoft Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 Accessories
Microsoft Touch Cover
Microsoft did great with the accessories. They added backlighting to the Touch Cover which is also thinner and lighter than the original. When messing around with the touch cover, I was pretty impressed with how quickly it picked up my keystrokes. Very sensitive and precise. That’s because they went from one sensor under each key, to a whole bunch (1092 to be exact).
The Microsoft Surface is back with a few improvements and accessories. Find out details of these Windows 8 tablets have to offer $119.99
Microsoft Type Cover
The Surface Type Cover was also improved with a thinner, lighter body and back-lit keys. There’s another version of the type cover that has a battery for longer use of the Surface.
PRICE: $139.99
Microsoft Surface Dock Station
he Docking Station for Surface Pro lets you quickly connect Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2 to desktop PC peripherals in a single step, taking you from laptop to desktop in an instant. I guess the primary use will be an external monitor and speakers. It’s expected to be released in 2014.
PRICE: $199.99
Microsoft Surface Remix Cover
A twist to the type covers, Surface has designers working on new type covers for different fields. The first one is called the Surface Music Kit. It allows you to lightly remix and edit tracks. I am not into music production at all, so I am not sure how useful it is. But from what I saw it was pretty cool. You can learn more about this at http://www.surfaceremixproject.com/.
Get more information on the new Microsoft Surface Tablet HERE
